Careers in cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention.

Research careers in cardiovascular epidemiology, including cardiac and vascular diseases and stroke, continue to grow and provide opportunities for contributions to our understanding of the extent, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases. The pursuit of cardiovascular epidemiology research is compatible with academic, clinical, laboratory, industry, government, and other scientific positions. Epidemiology is the study of disease patterns and outcomes in populations. Because of this public health perspective, epidemiologists also play a learning role in the study of disease prevention. Observational epidemiologists define the role of risk factors in predicting, preventing, and treating cardiovascular disease through population studies. Working with laboratory medical and behavioral scientists, they elucidate the underlying mechanisms and initiate large prevention and treatment trials. Our understanding of lipids, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, inflammation, and other factors leading to cardiovascular diseases originated in epidemiological observations. This research continues with considerable vigor as epidemiologists evaluate new biomarkers and the genetics of cardiovascular disease. However, expanding opportunities also exist in the field, including the study of primary and secondary prevention, nutrition, clinical epidemiology, health services research, policy research, and other areas in the academic, public, and private schools where epidemiologic methodology and skills play a scientific role in the study of humans. The need for formal training in epidemiology and associated fields is increasingly apparent. Training “on the job,” the norm for many senior people, has given way to more structured programs leading to graduate certificates and degrees. These range from training at well-established international and national seminars to Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science (MS), and doctoral (DrPH, PhD) programs. Postdoctoral experience supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the American Heart Association, and other organizations is available at many centers. Finally, in the current era, many data sets and stored biological samples are readily available to qualified investigators. A shortage of trained individuals to take advantage of these opportunities leads to almost certain job security in academia, industry, and government for well-trained scientists.